Confession time. Was laughing at work the other day about some early nautical disasters we've had in our time.... <br /><br />All started years ago when me & brother in law did some fishing down Shell Island in Wales. After watching boats sail out one nice day we decided, "...we want one." Turns out BIL knew a boating expert, Capn Mark from Wigan we'll call him. After dropping in conversation our inkling for a boat Capn Mark's on the phone just days later with the magic words, "...you've got a boat". £600 quid changed hands and soon sat outside BILs house was an embarrasing shade of light blue, 16ft microplus with an ancient 40hp Evinrude on a homemade trailer. <br /><br />Eager to become boaters we followed our boating guru Capn Mark to undertake our first launch one Dec morning at Knott End. It was quite encouraging to see we weren't the only buffoons there and after bacon butties in the cafe as we waiting for the tide to come in we soon managed to launch. "Its great this", I thought as BIL declared, "...she starts first time." Only she didn't. And neither did she after the next 20 times. "Should we just anchor up for a minute...?, I suggested to BIL after drifting 30yds from the slip. "What anchor...?" BIL replied. <br /><br />10minutes later with the tide coming in big style we were way off land travelling inland down the Lune estuary at a serious rate of knots. Coats off, ready to leap in, if only to clean seriously at risk underwear, we skimmed past anchored boats and anchored buoys that I dread to think what would have done to us if we'd hit them. <br /><br />Capn Mark was no help either as we begged for him on the mobile - his boat wouldn't start either...! 20mins later though the gods smiled on us as Capn Marks boat started and he soon arrived to meet us so far inland we couldn't see the sea nor Knott End. <br /><br />With a tow rope between us I smiled as he started to drag us back to the slipway. That was until his engine overheated due to dragging both boats against the tide. We lashed both boats together and I despaired as our boating expert declared his real expertise, "Err... we might need the coastguard today." <br /><br />Bugger this I though, and with my engine knowledge limited to old motorbikes took the cowling off our engine and staring me in the face was the choke linkage dangling loose. <br /><br />A quick fix with a bit of wire and we were away. Boating expert and his boat got towed back and dumped back at Knott End. We just revelled in more stupidity as we blasted down to Blackpools North Pier and back, no life jackets, no backup engine, no radio, all 100yds or so offshore which we later cringed about when we found out its just a couple of feet deep in places. <br /><br />At the end of the day we were now experts ourself and our next trip was planned. "Treaddur Bay... great fishing." <br /><br />BIL towed boat down in his van Fri evening, engine in the back. Both families stayed at a cheap caravan park. Saturday morning we bolted the engine on the boat, dumped all the fishing tackle in and set off the short couple of mile journey to the slip. Half a mile later "...BANG." "We've lost the trailer...!", BIL screamed. Stopped the van... 200 yds back down the road was half a trailer, right up against the crushed back doors of the van was the other half a trailer, snapped at the neck, along with our pride and joy, behind her 200yds of glorious white skid marks along the road from the bottom of the hull. <br /><br />Bright idea from BIL... "I'm in the AA, we'll call them." Tow truck duly arrives and he had his words well rehearsed, "Every year I see idiots like you buy a cheap boat, think you know it all, come down here and expect me to sort out the mess you make..." <br /><br />Major luck (?) eventually came in again that day, we found another homemade trailer for sale locally and did in fact finally get to launch and do a bit of fishing.
